Induction unit for heating, air conditioning and ventilating



July 5, 1966 E. M. TARNOFF 3,259,178

INDUCTION UNIT FOR HEATING, AIR CONDITIONING AND VENTILATING Filed Jan.11, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FRESH 45 A112 DAMPER as MOT THERMOSTAT ROOMAIR DAMPER 52 o-roR INVENTOR. EDWIN M. TARNOFF A TTORNEY July 5, 1966 E.M. TARNOFF 3,259,178

INDUCTION UNIT FOR HEATING, AIR CONDITIONING AND VENTILATING Filed Jan.11, 1962 2 SheetsSheet 2 "I: W 4 I I WKWQQ INVENTOR. EDWIN M. TARNOFF'United States Patent 3,259,178 INDUCTION UNIT FOR HEATING, AIRCONDITIONING AND VENTILATING Edwin M. Tarnolf, Frost Bldg., 520 WestAve., Norwalk, Conn. Filed Jan. 11, 1962, Ser. No. 165,633 1 Claim. (Cl.165-39) This invention concerns a room air distribution unit.

According to the invention there is provided a system of ducts forsupplying heated or chilled air to a room. The system includes a passagefor fresh air into the system controlled by dampers or movable baffles.Another passage controlled by further dampers or baffles controls returnof air from the room for mixing with fresh air and with heated orchilled air. The system is thermostat controlled. The system makes itpossible to supply heated or chilled air from a remote source or sourcesto a room without requiring local fans, refrigeration units, heatingcoils, and the like. As a result, installation and maintenance aresimplified and reduced in cost. More efiicient use is made of centralheating and cooling sources since the conditioning of air in each roomof a building can be locally controlled for satisfaction of individualrequirements.

It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide a roomair distribution unit associated wth ducts of a heated and/ or chilledair system, with provision for admitting fresh air into the room.

A further object is to provide a unit of the character described withdamper controlled passages for fresh air and room air into the unit.

' Still another object is to provide a unit of the character described,wherein the dampers controlling the passages are part of a thermostatcontrolled system.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects andadvantages thereof, reference will be had to the following descriptionand accompanying drawings, and to the appended claim in which thevarious novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a unit embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 44 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a control circuit employed in the unit.

Referring to FIGS. l-4, there is shown a room air distribution unitwhich includes a sheet metal casing having a front cover panel 12provided with louvers 14, 15 and 16. The casing has a front Wall 18,rear wall 20, top 22, bottom 24 and end walls 26, 28. A maindistributing duct 25 for heated or chilled air is connected to the openbottom of the casing. This duct has a top wall on which are mounted twospaced air ejector nozzles 32, 34. Each nozzle has a cylindrical tubularbase opening at the bottom into duct 25. Air filter element 29 may belocated in duct 25 to screen conditioned air passing to nozzles 32, 34.

Each nozzle has a flattened constricted mouth or opening 36 from whichheated or chilled air is discharged under high pressure. The front sideof the casing has an opening 38 at which is a frame 39 in which aremounted movable baffles or dampers 40. Air returning from the room inwhich the unit is mounted enters the unit through opening 38. At therear side of the casing is another opening 42 through which fresh airfrom outside the room enters the unit.

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Battles or dampers 44 are mounted in a frame 50 at opening 42. An airfilter 45 in a frame 45' may be mounted at opening 42, A motor 46 ismounted in the casing and has a reciprocating shaft 48 connected to thedampers 44 for turning them angularly in frame 50. Another motor 52 ismounted in the casing and has a reciprocating shaft 54 connected todampers 40 for turning these dampers angularly. Openings 55 and 56 areprovided in the front of the casing to emit heated or chilled air mixedwith fresh air and recirculating room air. Thin lint screen filterelements 58, 60 may be located in the openings 55, 56 behind the louvers14 and 16 in the cover panel 12. A similar lint screen may be located atopening 38. Dampers 40 are located behind louvers 15 in the panel 12.Motors 46 and 52 may be conventional solenoids having plunger shafts 48and 54.

Outlet ducts 11 may be attached to panel 12. These ducts communicatewith openings 55, 56 so that air leaving these openings may bedistributed at locations in a room remote from the unit.

Curved stationary air deflectors 62-65 are located inside the casing forguiding air flow therein. The end, top and rear walls of the casing maybe lined with fibrous sheets 67 which serve as noise suppressors andinsulation.

In operation of the unit, a thermostat 68 such as a conventionalthermistor whose internal resistance varies with ambient temperaturewill preferably be located near or behind opening 38 in the return airstream. This thermostat is connected in series with a power supply uchas battery 70 and parallel motors 46, 52 as shown in FIG. 5. Thethermostat controls the voltage and magnitude of current applied tomotors 46, 52. As the temperature of the thermostat varies the voltageapplied to the motors varies and Shafts 48, 54 are advanced or retractedin coordination with variation of temperatures. The dampers 40, 44should be arranged so that one set of dampers closes as the other setopens and vice versa. The thermostat 68 will control motors 46, 52depending on heating or cooling conditions required. When the motorscontrolled by the thermostat act to increase heat in the room, thedampers 44 facing outdoors will be closed and the dampers 40 will open.The room air will be returned to the unit while heated air will bedischarged from the nozzles to mix with the room air and the heatedmixture will be discharged from the unit through openings 55, 56 andoutlet ducts 11.

When the room is satisfactorily heated, the room dampers 40 arepartially closed while the dampers 44 are opened to bring more fresh airinto the unit, and mixed air at proper temperature circulates in theroom and through the unit.

The system may be supplied with heated or cooled air under pressure froma remote source delivered to the unit via a duct 72 connected to theunit.

If desired, only a single motor may be employed to operate both sets ofdampers 40, 44, which will then be connected via a suitable mechanicallinkage.

The invention makes it possible to provide air heating and/or coolingfor a home, school, hotel, commercial or industrial building in a moreeconomical manner than has hitherto been possible. The temperature ofthe air circulated in a room is locally controlled and depends on therelative quantities of fresh air and room air mixed with the primarysource of heated or chilled air delivered to the air distribution unit.

An important feature of the invention is the arrangement by which mixingof room air and fresh air is controlled to eifect room air temperaturecontrol and adjustment without requiring supplementary heating orcooling devices employing circulating hot or chilled water.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of myinvention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to theprecise construction herein disclosed and that various changes andmodifications may be made Within the scope of the invention as definedin the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by United States Letters Patent is:

An air distribution unit for conditioning air in a room, comprising asheet metal casing having front, rear, end, top and bottom walls, a ductconnected to the bottom wall to receive conditioned air under pressurefrom a remote source thereof, a plurality of nozzles with flattened,constricted oppositely directed mouths opening into the easing from saidduct, said rear wall having a first passage to pass fresh air into thecasing, a movable damper assembly mounted at said first passage, saidfront wall having a central second passage to pass room air into thecasing, another damper assembly mounted at the second passage, motormeans for actuating the damper assemblies, said front Wall having aplurality of third passages spaced laterally of the second passage andopening into the room for discharging conditioned air mixed with roomair and fresh air into the room, a thermostat in circuit with said motormeans and responsive to condition of the air in the room to actuate themotor means and damper assemblies, simultaneously, air deflector columnsin the casing located to guide conditioned air mixed with room air andfresh air from the nozzle mouths and the first and second passages tothe third passages, air filter elements located in said third passages,and pads lining certain of said Walls to insulate the same and suppressnoise of air flow in the casing, whereby the relative proportions ofconditioned air, room air and fresh air discharged into the room isautomatically controlled.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,191,224 2/1940Adair 165-126 2,787,946 4/1957 Gannon 98--38 3,049,341 8/1962 Kemp165-l36 FOREIGN PATENTS 379,430 9/1932 Great Britain.

ROBERT A. OLEARY, Primary Examiner.

CHARLES SUKALO. Examiner.

